


In the Memories You Left Behind

by Frozenleaf



Category: Tales of Berseria
Genre: F/F, Future Fic?, Post-Game, angsty i guess, slight interpretation on how the earthpulse works
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-31
Updated: 2019-08-31
Packaged: 2020-10-04 03:34:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,789
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20464337
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Frozenleaf/pseuds/Frozenleaf
Summary: Five decades on, and Magilou's never forgotten the amber eyes that first struck feeling into her broken heart.





	In the Memories You Left Behind

Velvet sleeps.

It's been five decades, maybe more. Magilou's lost track of the time, of the years, since her story began. Over the years, Maotelus has restored peace to what was once a wasteland, his barrier and reach growing stronger with every new convert to his church. The rest of their companions have scattered to the four reaches- Eleanor runs an orphanage somewhere to the north, while Eizen searches the seas for adventure. Rokurou? Well, Magilou imagines he's probably stuck somewhere, trying to cut down an entire mountain for the funsies.

But five decades on, and Magilou's never forgotten the amber eyes that first struck feeling into her broken heart.

She sighs. As it is now, feelings _suck. _The Earthpulse is cold, empty- save for her. She leans back against the uncomfortable rock, staring up at a sky that doesn't exist but pulses with the colours of the aurora. She doesn't know how long it's been since she's wandered here, doesn't know how long she's managed to survive over the years with only the memory of amber eyes vaguely at the back of her mind.

But though she's not quite _normal _by human standards since an eon ago, it's getting harder to move, harder to breathe. To remember the face of her students, her friends.

To remember Velvet.

She calls it a sign on the wind. A rattle in her old bones. Even Bienfu noticed it, the last they met. She glances at a nearby pool of water, grimaces slightly at the way her once-platinum blond hair now looks more gray than bright, at the barest hint of wrinkles upon her face. Whatever the case, she's here now, after saying her goodbyes to everyone but _her._

Granted, Magilou wishes she could find Innominat's domain, where Velvet sleeps. Wishes she can touch her one last time, see her face twist into a scowl that she's all but forgotten. But they've never actually had those moments, have they?

She wishes she could see Velvet, just one last time. Even if it's just in someone else's memories.

So she wanders through the emptiness, hands behind her head, laughing at someone's embarrassing memory, smiling at another's happiness. It's how she's lived her whole life, an observer in someone else's story.

Then she finds them. Scattered motes of light, memories that float to her opened hands. Few, in the many hundreds she's sorted through. Shop keepers that Velvet spoke to, exorcists that Velvet fought. Inn keepers that look incredulous when the Lord of Calamity says she doesn't drink. The memories of the villagers in Aball, of a Velvet Magilou has never known. People that Velvet has saved and helped without realizing it. People who glimpsed her, if only for the briefest of moments.

Magilou laughs. Cries. Feels the old, scarred-over wound in her heart twinge once more. It's silly that she would go out of her way to tear open the bandages that has held her together for all these years... but even worse would be to forget. For in those memories, amber eyes shine bright, and Velvet's voice strikes a chord within her, makes her remember the best years of her life.

She peruses the earthen historia, letting herself seep into the memories. Wishing, as each one fades, that she can hold on to them, to the warm feeling in her heart that she's buried for so long. But with each further memory, with each cold return to reality, Magilou remembers why it was that she didn't let herself do this. Why the tears spring to her eyes, each time she says goodbye.

Then one day, as she wipes away the tears, lets her body take in a shaking breath, she hears...

"Magilou?"

Magilou turns, and she's there- except not quite. Her figure's semi-transparent, glowing with the warm light of an earthen historia. But there's no mistaking the sharp amber eyes, the shock of dark black hair. The way she's watching Magilou with a tenderness that's so unfamiliar in the rest of the earthen historia, but not unlike her own memories.

Magilou stares. Velvet can't be here- Velvet should be asleep, locked eternally within Innominat. But still, there is a softness in the apparition's hazy visage that pulls at her heart.

"Are you... here?" she asks at last. Logic dictates that this is just another memory, another earthen historia. She can't react to Magilou, can't _really _be here, and if she acts out of turn-

"Where is 'here'?" the apparition asks, voice hazy and soft. "It feels... cold."

Magilou bites back her gasp. On shaking legs, she stands. And though she wants to go close to the warmth, close to the Velvet she's never been able to touch in the memories, she... hesitates.

The apparition doesn't. She steps close to Magilou, her face pulling in a frown. "You're different."

Magilou says nothing. It's been ages since she's seen Velvet, and the apparition still has her youth, her sharp amber eyes. But she's no mere memory, or at least not one that Magilou has ever seen. And not one of hers, not with the way her features are so clear, and not a fog of old words and old sensations.

She stays still when the apparition approaches. But then Velvet reaches out, and when her hand ghosts across her skin, Magilou gasps.

It's warm. Steady. Holding her gently, like she used to do, a lifetime ago.

"Magilou." There's a soft pain in those beautiful eyes, one that always tears at Magilou's heart. "You're... old."

She swallows. Lowers her head as she draws in a deep breath. Manages a smile when she looks up. "That's what happens after you live fifty years."

"Live?" There's confusion in the apparition's eyes. "How long- where-" She shakes her head. "We were just at Meirchio. I don't... understand."

There's so much feeling in the apparition's voice that it sounds so real. Gently, Magilou pries the hand away. "You don't have to," she says softly. "You don't need to. You're safe here. That's all that matters."

"That doesn't cut it for me," the apparition snaps back sharply. "Where are we? What _happened, _Magilou? What's going on?"

"What's going on?" Despite herself, Magilou chuckles. "We're in the earthpulse. You're a memory of the woman I loved, fifty years ago. And I came here to say goodbye to you, because Velvet's gone. I can't reach her because she's locked up somewhere I can't get to, and I can't tell her... that I miss her, that I love her, even after all this time. That my life's been better, because of her, and that it was the best when she was in it."

The apparition stills, her eyes wide with shock. Magilou smiles, ever so slightly.

"Goodbye, Velvet," she whispers. Closes her eyes with a sigh.

Then something warm snakes around her shoulders. Arms. Familiar and strong. Someone leaning against her, pressing her against a body that's solid and warm. The tears spring up again, and as much as Magilou knows none of this is real, there's nothing to lose in indulging in the fantasy.

"You're dying," comes the broken whisper in her ear.

"That I am," Magilou affirms.

"I remember... fighting Artorius, Innominat. Sealing myself away."

Magilou stills at the words. Maybe the apparition is holding her too tightly, but it's hard to breathe. "No," she whispers softly. "No, you can't remember that-"

Gently, the apparition pulls away. Wipes away the tears that stream down her cheek. Her smile is broken and sad when she whispers, "I'm not a memory, Magilou."

The words knocks the breath out of her. Velvet watches her with uncharacteristic patience, her hands warm as they hold hers.

"How?" she finally manages. Her mind races through the possibilities, knowing that whatever the apparition says must be a lie, a cruel joke-

"I'm not sure, either." Velvet frowns. "I was... dreaming. Living the life I always wanted, but then... I heard your voice." She runs a hand down Magilou's face. "You were crying."

"Because of you, you dumb... brute!" Magilou yells at her, but Velvet catches her hands before she can hit her, and after a moment, she wraps her close to her once more.

"Isn't it dumber that you came here to say goodbye to a memory?" Velvet asks, her voice gentle and tinged with exasperation. "After all this time... you idiot."

Magilou trembles. "It's not my fault that you went and tore my heart open before you decided to go and _sleep forever_!" she snaps back. "Do you know how hard it is to move on, when the woman you love decides to seal herself away for something nonsensically noble like 'the good of the world'? How could anyone else ever compare to you?"

Velvet doesn't respond, and instead holds her close, her warm hand stroking her back.

"I just... wanted to say goodbye. Even if you didn't hear it."

"I did," Velvet murmurs. "I did, and I'm sorry Magilou. For everything."

"Don't be." Her laughter shakes, but Magilou clings tight to Velvet's strong arms. "You made my life better, so for what is worth, I don't regret a thing."

"That's good." A soft sigh, a hand bracing her back.

"Do you remember what it was like, Velvet? On the road? When we were together?"

"You snored," Velvet mumbles. "You were a horrible piece of work, twisting words and feelings."

"You threw a pot at me once."

Velvet chuckles. "I did," she acknowledges with a faint smile. "I'm only slightly ashamed that I missed."

"If you had hit and killed me, who would make you scream at night?" Magilou grins, and Velvet groans.

"Now I'm definitely ashamed."

They share a laugh, soft and warm. It seeps into Magilou's soul, so familiar and gentle. Velvet's warm, strong and protective. Everything she remembers, she loves, but...

"You're not here, are you?" Magilou sniffs. "Your body is still somewhere, with Innominat. You're just a consciousness, a spirit, being carried through the earthpulse."

Velvet pauses, but nods. Tenderly, she asks, "When you die... wouldn't you be much the same?"

Magilou sighs. Rests her head against the crook of Velvet's neck. "Won't be much longer now. An hour, a day... who knows. I'm just glad I found you, again, before it happens."

"Then I'll stay with you, until it does."

"Will you... take me with you, when you leave?"

There's a pause. A tightening around her shoulders. Then, "Of course. You can terrorize me as much as you want to, then."

The tears are staring up again, but it's getting harder to breathe. Velvet holds her close, and Magilou sighs. Her vision's starting to fade, but it doesn't matter.

In the hazy bliss of the earthpulse, she's finally found what she wants.


End file.
